Customer Reviews

Coming About

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an achievement. Without exaggerating, I'd say that this is the world's most interesting Big Band of our time. While this music is not "revolutionary" in the sense of neglecting tradition no matter what the cost (Schneider seems to take more of an evolutionary approach, building on what she learnt form Gil Evans and others), it's certainly unique - both in its sense of form and in its musical substance. "Scenes From Childhood", one of the highlights of the album, is a typical example: A musical "movement" (in the classical sense of the word) which at the same time provides highly individual landscapes (or rooms, as Schneider puts it) for the soloists to develop their ideas. Furthermore, there is a strong tension between Schneider's becoming abstract/formal on the one hand and the strong emotional, concrete imagery remaining on the other. Jazz has been said to be one of the few original American artistic genres of the twentieth century, ! and Maria Schneider prooves that it is well and alive.

My name is Joel DiBartolo and was the bass player on the "Tonight Show starring Johny Carson" for almost 20 years. As you can imagine, I had the pleasure and often the dis-pleasure of playing big band arrangements (charts) for and by a wide variety of performers. Tommy Newsom and Bill Holman, amomg others, wrote many arrangements of both standard songs and original songs for the band. By the time the Carson version of the "Tonight Show" went off the air in May, 1992, I was convinced that writing music for a collection of 16 - 18 musicians had become passè. Hearing Maria Schneider's music changed my life.She is, wihtout a doubt, the best contemporary big band writer and arranger on the scene today.

My name is Joel DiBartolo and was the bass player on the "Tonight Show starring Johny Carson" for almost 20 years. As you can imagine, I had the pleasure and often the dis-pleasure of playing big band arrangements (charts) for and by a wide variety of performers. Tommy Newsom and Bill Holman, amomg others, wrote many arrangements of both standard songs and original songs for the band. By the time the Carson version of the "Tonight Show" went off the air in May, 1992, I was convinced that writing music for a collection of 16 - 18 musicians had become passè. Hearing Maria Schneider's music changed my life.She is, wihtout a doubt, the best contemporary big band writer and arranger on the scene today.

Let me start by saying I've been looking for this album for a long time! I'm glad I finally have it! I traded a guy another cd for this one.

"Coming About" was released on Enja Records in 1996 and marks one of Maria Schneider's greatest musical achievements in my opinion. Her writing and arranging is so amazing. Her style has bits and pieces of Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton in it. It's hard to be a big band composer/arranger without recognizing these masters. She truly has a remarkable style. The way she voices chords is really unique. Also, unlike alot of big bands she makes good use of woodwinds. It's not just brass and saxophones, which makes for a compelling listen.

This is certainly one of the finest big band records I've heard in a long time. I would actually classify her as progressive big band jazz. Her pieces are long and have many movements in them.

From start to finish, this is one recording that is worth your investment. I highly recommend it!

The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra:

Mark Vinci - alto and soprano saxes, clarinet, flute and alto flute
Tim Ries - alto and soprano saxes, clarinet and flute
Rich Perry - tenor sax
Rick Margitza - tenor sax
Scott Robinson - baritone sax, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute and theremin
Tony Kadleck - trumpet and fluegelhorn
Greg Gisbert - trumpet and fluegelhorn
Laurie Frink - trumpet and fluegelhorn
Tim Hagans - trumpet and fluegelhorn
Keith O'Quinn - trombone
Rock Ciccarone - trombone
Larry Farrell - trombone
George Flynn bass - trombone
Ben Monder - guitar
Frank Kimbrough - piano
Tony Scherr - acoustic and electric bass
Tim Horner - drums

In the last five years I've completely lost my patience for the pop music that is being released and made my way more fully into jazz. It's been an expensive experiment. Other than owning The Koln Concert since the days of vinyl I had to disect the labels of recordings I liked and hope that the individual players in a trio or quartet would keep the momentum going in their own work. So Jarrett led to Garbarek who led to Gismonte who led to Haden who led to Carla Bley and on and on.

It was Haden, Bley and Don Cherry, especially on Ballad of the Fallen, who peaked my interest in "big bands", a genre that I associated with a dated swing-music kind of sound. Then onto Dave Holland's Big Band which I didn't care for (until the excellent Overtime release) and Kenny Wheeler's fantastic Music for Large and Small Ensembles. That one convinced me to keep looking.

I had read about Maria Schneider's Concert in the Garden winning Downbeat everything awards and was surprised when Tower Records told me I would only be able to purchase it as a download (they were wrong for the time being). Having never heard Ms. Schneider's work, my enthusiasm cooled. Ironically, I happened to be in my local library when I found her previous recording, Coming Around. It is unlike aything I've heard in its beauty, complexity and originality. There is a classical influence that seems to move the music without sounding "classical" or ever dominating the jazz aspect. It is not easy to describe something as unique as Coming Around but any music fan should seek it out. It drove me to Ms. Schneider's website where I ordered Concert in the Garden but it is hard to believe it could be better.